Five LifeChanging Times Jasper said I love you
by hillabilla
Summary: pretty self explanatory.  jasper/henry, m/m slash.  i don't own UH, wish i did.  don't like it, please don't read it. but if you DO read it... please review!  i love my beautiful people.
1. The First Time

Jasper Bartlett was eight years old, sitting next to the hospital bed. His grandmother lay there, hiccupping and looking around blindly. Her cancer had set in quickly, and the doctors expected a quick drop off—she'd be gone in a month or less. Jasper loved his Grammy Ellen. All his life, he had her there. As she lived only two miles from the Bartlett household, his father would drop him off if he had some place to be, and Jasper loved each time that happened, because even though he didn't see his father very much, his Grammy would take excellent care of him. Ellen would bake cookies when she knew he was coming, and if she didn't, they'd bake them together. She'd even let him eat the raw cookie dough after his father said he could get salmonella—though Jasper wasn't really sure what that was.

She'd take him to the park, or to the beach. She'd take him anywhere he'd want, and he didn't think something so solid in his life would slip away.

She looked at him now, sitting by her bed, and he could tell she didn't recognize him. His eyes welled up with tears, and he reached out his hand to hers.

"Let go! Who are you? Nurse!"

"But Grammy… I love you…"

"Nurse!"

Two nurses came in, and the one with bouncy blonde hair gently laid a hand on Jasper's shaking shoulders and led him to a playroom full of other children who seemed so happy, and Jasper couldn't stop crying.

Ellen died that evening.


	2. The Second Time

Jasper Bartlett was twelve years old, sitting in a classroom school chair, hands shaking as they lay gently on the wooden desk attached. He looked at the girl next to him, with her long dark hair tied in a ponytail, and he knew he was in love with her.

He leaned over and introduced himself. "I'm Jasper." He smiled nervously, and laughed by accident, his face getting red, his voice cracking.

The girl smiled at him. "Hi, I'm Maggie."

Jasper could feel himself shaking. "So, the junior high dance is coming up…"

The girl's smile disappeared. "I don't do dances, sorry, I've got too much work to do…"

Jasper knew how that was. His dad hounded him every day to get homework done, to read more, learn more, and become a doctor or something.

Jasper blushed. "Well, maybe we could get a drink at the café—"

"No," she quickly interrupted. "I mean, no, if it's a date."

"A date! What! No way, haha…"

"Great! I think we could get along pretty well… I'm glad we're going to be friends, Jackson."

"It's Jasper."

"Right."

They walked to the café together at break time, one walking uncomfortably, and the other not noticing, her hair swaying behind her magically. They ordered two Chocolate Turtles and decided to share a cookie. After they got more comfortable around each other, it was time to go back to class, and they were parting ways at a corner of lockers when Jasper blurted out, "I love you!"

It was the first time he'd even told a girl that he liked them, let alone loved them, and he watched fearfully as Maggie's face went stoic again.

"I thought we were just going to be friends, Jasper."

"Yeah! I… that's what I meant, I love you as a friend… like, 'I love you, man', you know?" He once again chuckled nervously.

Her face relaxed. "Oh. Well, maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to say it. Who knows what people will think?" She waved and turned toward class.

Jasper waved weakly, a tear stuck to his eyelashes.

Maggie turned and smiled. "We're hanging out later, right?"

Jasper smiled, a bit of happiness returning to an otherwise disappointing realization that the girl of his dreams was surely too good for him. But hey, life moves on. And didn't he have biology now?

Jasper took off running, the hall bell ringing as decidedly as if fate held the bell in her very hands.


	3. The Third Time

Jasper Bartlett was seventeen years old, sitting on his father's favorite armchair, completely naked. Henry Griffin, Jasper's monkey of a cousin, knelt on the cushions by Jasper's thighs. Henry and Jasper locked lips, Jasper's hands holding Henry's hips as he moved in closer. The touch they felt was beyond pleasurable, and they gasped, holding solidly to each other to keep steady, riding out the sensation.

Jasper felt uncomfortable and completely happy at the same time, which caused him to turn away from Henry and squinted his eyes so he could not look at his cousin or cry in front of him.

Henry noticed and leaned back. "Jasper…" he said softly, reaching a hand to Jasper's cheek and wiping away a traitor of a tear. Jasper closed up, his shoulders contracting in. He felt himself turning into a ball, like how you do when there's a bear. Jasper felt threatened. He opened his eyes, looked into Henry's, and cried then. Suddenly self conscious of how he looked when he cried and how he looked while naked, Jasper turned away from Henry and hugged himself.

Both of them had lost the urge to do what they had intended, but Henry didn't seem concerned with that one bit. He tried to scoot in next to Jasper on the gigantic chair, and managed to squish in sideways. He reached his arms around Jasper, holding him to him, cooing gently. Jasper wouldn't admit it, but the gentleness his cousin was portraying calmed him, and he turned and hugged Henry to his chest. Henry laid one leg over Jasper's knees and snuggled his face into Jasper's neck.

"Jasper, I want you to know… I love you."

Jasper felt tears well up in his eyes as he lifted Henry's face and saw that Henry had been crying too. He leaned up into him and kissed him, slowly, lazily, like the world had stopped and they didn't care.

"Oh, Henry, I love you, too."

Jasper smiled and pulled Henry ever closer to him.

Neither heard Mr. Bartlett come home. They were both asleep when he saw them lying naked together on _his _chair.


	4. The Fourth Time

Jasper was still seventeen years old, sitting on the sofa, his dad across from him on a dining chair, Henry next to him, head down.

Mr. Bartlett had his chin in his hands. He was sighing, contemplating, and doing anything but looking his son and his nephew in the eyes.

"Dad, I…"

Mr. Bartlett raised his hand, stopping Jasper from continuing. He then looked up, and with a sigh, he said "marriage between first cousins is legal in Washington D.C."

The two boys looked up at Mr. Bartlett, jaws hanging, their eyes wide open.

"But gay marriage is not."

"Dad…"

"Let me finish. It took me some time last night, but I came to a decision. If this is happening, I don't want any fuss, I don't want everyone to tease, you get it. I did some research. Connecticut allows both first cousins to marry and gay couples to marry. So this is how it works. I won't allow this to happen under my roof unless you make it official, with an official certificate. It's hard for me to accept, but those are my conditions. I don't want people to say that we're all just having one big party in this house, do you understand me? And I hate to ask it, because damn it, I love you both, but could you keep it relatively covert?"

Mr. Bartlett let out a big breath and looked at the boys. The two looked at each other and smiled confused but happy smiles. No one but Mr. B, they were thinking, would mean so much to them.

Jasper stood up and hugged his father. He held his neck like he used to do when he was a child and whispered to his father, "I love you."

Mr. Bartlett hugged him back.


	5. The Fifth Time

Jasper Bartlett was nineteen years old, standing by the trellis archway at the end of a white carpet in an apple orchard, clasping his hands and looking back. There were apple petals falling all around, and he was happy to see several people he loved sitting in the folding white chairs set up on either side of the carpet. Maggie was there, and of course his father and Henry's parents, who took the news rather well and said it wasn't all that strange. Also among the guests were Tamba and his father, Hunter, Gunner (strangely enough) and that little mousy girl who was still adorable now… that girl that Henry had hugged once and instantly befriended.

Music began to play, and Jasper laughed as he realized it was the Indiana Jones theme music. The guests laughed and turned back to face the end of the carpet, where Henry Griffin now stood, wearing a black suit. He had told Jasper he would wear it for him, and even though Jasper said he didn't have to, Henry insisted, and now, here they were, about to get married.

Henry walked gracefully toward Jasper, a smile that could outshine any lighthouse resting comfortably on his lips. He came to a stop next to Jasper and took his hands in his own.

The priest they had hired smiled warmly at them, and asked them if they were ready.

"Most definitely," Henry replied. Turning to Jasper, he said softly, "more than anything."

Jasper smiled broadly, squeezing Henry's hands softly. "I love you forever, Henry."


End file.
